Pouch transfers, including transfer wheels and drop-off wheels are old. Examples of known devices are clearly disclosed in applicant's related U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,575,187; 5,829,332; 5,220,993; 6,553,243 and 6,058,818 for example; each of these patents are incorporated herein by express reference. Of these, U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,993 discloses the use of pouch transfer wheels with a rotary knife, while U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,575,187; 5,829,332 and 6,058,818 disclose rotary knives directly dropping off cut pouches.
It is now desired to improve pouch transfers and pouch handling functionality in numerous respects, driven by market or consumer needs on the one hand, and by need to accommodate a variety of pouch manipulations and functionality in pouch transfer environments.
First, with attention to consumer or market consideration, it is appreciated that in certain countries, including Pacific Rim countries, Africa and perhaps elsewhere, such as in convenience stores where single pouches are sold, an individual consumer may wish to purchase, or only have means to purchase, a single item in a single pouch (or small multiples thereof) at a point of sale. This is opposed to more robust or affluent markets where a consumer or wholesaler may purchase large containers of individually-cut pouches in large numbers. Thus, in some countries, it is typical to find a relatively short bandolier of connected pouches hanging in a display position where a consumer or clerk may tear off only one pouch at a time. When such pouches are delivered to the market place in relatively short bandoliers, it is still desirable to provide them in cartons, flow wrappers, over wrappers, bags, shippers, or some other packaging. And preferably, it is desirable to fold the bandoliers for packaging. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide relatively short pouch bandoliers in configurations of 9, 12, 15, 16 or 20 pouch lengths, for example, in packages where the bandolier is folded two or more times. Thus, in the package, an integral bandolier of pouches has multiple folds, resulting in a multiple layer stack of pouches in short layer lengths of 2, 3, 4 or 5 layers, for example, with folds connecting each layer sequentially. Thus, as an example, it is desired to provide cartons of pouches having three pouches in each of three layers (for a nine-pouch bandolier); four layers of three pouches each or three layers of four pouches each (for a twelve pouch bandolier); five layers of three pouches each or three layers of five pouches each (for a 15 pouch bandolier); four layers of four pouches each (for a sixteen pouch bandolier); and five layers of four pouches each or four layers of five pouches each (for a 20 pouch bandolier). Other configurations are also alternately contemplated herein.
In prior pouching equipment, a rotary knife wheel or a transfer wheel without a knife itself is provided with circumferentially disposed, radially extending suction cups carrying either a plurality of single cutoff pouches or a bandolier of indeterminate length through at least a circumferential sector of the wheel. These suction cups are intermittently connected to a low pressure or vacuum source through a vacuum disc or wheel precisely machined to pass a low pressure (vacuum) to the suction cups in a pre-selected sector of the knife or transfer wheel as it rotates. Thus, for each particular operation, low pressure or vacuum is directed to suction cups through predetermined wheel sectors, while the vacuum is broken or higher pressure is applied to cups in other sectors to eject pouches, all controlled by a precisely machined vacuum disc constructed to pass low pressure to selected suction cups through a very precisely manufactured shoe or valve disc designed for a particular feeding operation. When a differing pouch carrying or pouch drop-off pattern is desired, a machine user must then redesign and precisely manufacture a re-cut vacuum shoe or valve disc in order to produce the desired vacuum delivery and duration to the cups as they move in their circular path. This process of handling various orientations in the pouch drop-off is thus expensive and time consuming. Any such operational change-over may require even further time where trial and error is required to attain exact timing. Prior patents incorporated herein illustrate such prior devices.
In another aspect of the background of this invention, it is desirable to provide for manipulation of pouches on the transfer or knife wheel to produce or provide pouches in different orientations on the wheel, or in different positions for release and outside the normal plane of pouch drop-off. Thus, it is desirable to be able to rotate pouches on the wheel, prior to drop-off, so to change the leading edge of the pouch by 90 degrees or to some other orientation. In addition, it is desirable to be able to translate the pouches laterally (in a direction parallel to the axis of wheel rotation) to move selected pouches out of the normal drop-off plane of the wheel, and to side-step one drop-off point laterally so as to feed a supplemental take-off conveyor operating in a direction perpendicular to a major axis of rotation of the drop-off wheel.
In the past, manipulation of the pouch orientation with respect to the wheel required cumbersome and complex mechanical devices, screws, cams and the like, if provided at all.
It is therefore one objective of the invention to provide apparatus for holding and releasing pouches from a transfer wheel or rotary drop-off knife without requiring design and machining of specific rotary or pressure shoes or discs for controlling peripheral suction cups to drop pouches in varying patterns.
A further objective has been to provide apparatus and methods to fold a bandolier of pouches into multiple layers in various fold configurations.
A further objective of the invention has been to provide apparatus for a pouch transfer wheel or knife to provide a wide variety of pouch handling and transfer parameters.
Another objective of the invention has been to provide a pouch transfer wheel or rotary pouch knife which can be easily and quickly adjusted or controlled to vary the pouch drop-off parameters.
A further objective of the invention has been to provide a pouch transfer wheel or a rotary knife drop-off wheel capable of orienting, translating or otherwise manipulating one or more pouches carried thereby.